Disability taskforce report calls for more than one personal worker after horrific death of Ann Marie Smith

A report by the taskforce set up to investigate disability safeguards in SA after the horrific death of Ann Marie Smith has found numerous gaps in services.

The taskforce set up after the horrific death of Ann Marie Smith has found significant flaws in the system that looks after some of South Australia’s most vulnerable people.

An interim report by the Safeguarding Task Force has made five recommendations and raised 12 areas of concerns.

The taskforce was set up amid public horror at the death of Ms Smith, who was a client of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

SA Police is investigating the circumstances leading to her “disgusting and degrading” death in April from severe septic shock and multiple organ failure.

They have launched a manslaughter inquiry into her treatment and the NDIS commissioner has appointed former Federal Court Judge Alan Robertson to lead an independent inquiry.

Police said the 54-year-old had been spending her days and sleeping at night in the same woven cane chair, with extremely poor personal hygiene and no nutritional food.

The 12-member taskforce includes experts, people with disabilities, family members, carers and advocates.

Taskforce co-chairs, and disability advocates, Kelly Vincent and David Caudrey, said there were three significant flaws that needed urgent attention. They found:

THERE was no requirement for care providers to allocate at least two workers to cater for each client.

THERE was no requirement for carers to have regular supervision.

THERE was a lack of clarity in how the National Disability Insurance Scheme handled reports of matters of concern and its clients were not being helped to participate in community activities.

Dr Caudrey has described Ms Smith’s case as the worst he had heard of during nearly five decades in the industry.

They said the National Disability Insurance Agency “needs to ensure that they are aware of participants who are vulnerable” and develop adequate plans and monitoring.

In addition, the report urges the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to accept complaints, concerns and warnings from the public or other agencies as alerts requiring investigation.

Recommendations included regular health checks for vulnerable NDIS participants, expansion of the state’s Adult Safeguarding Unit, better screening of workers and the consideration of a community visitor scheme as an additional safeguard

Ms Vincent said the recommendations needed to be implemented correctly.

“People’s lives literally depend on us getting these changes right,” Ms Vincent said. “We need action. But we need action that is actually going to work.”

Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said she had already spoken to federal NDIS Minister Stuart Robert to ensure the NDIS swiftly put into place the urgent, interim findings.

Ms Lensink said the recommendations, which have been accepted in-principle, would provide additional layers of safeguarding for people living with disability in SA.

“While all recommendations will require further detail, preliminary work has already begun,” she said.

Opposition human services spokeswoman Nat Cook said the report did not outline how the State Government would adopt recommendations. “The taskforce report is the start of a bigger piece of work that it will take to reform the state’s disability system,” Ms Cook said.

“There is not enough detail in terms of the failings of the State Government as they were providing oversight for the transition from state disability services to the NDIS.”

A spokesman for Mr Robert said the minister had received a copy of the report.

He said the Federal Government was committed to taking action to respond to any systemic failures or shortcomings identified by the investigations and inquiries into Ms Smith’s death. This included any recommendations by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, he said.